Notes on Accompaniment
- Listen to the other musicians
- Remember that you are the accompanist
- Know the tune’s time signature
- This is not applicable to the 317 Main Irish “slow” Session, but FYI many sessions expect there to be only one of any accompanying instrument at a time: 1 guitar, 1 bodhran, 1 piano, 1 bouzouki; ideally only one string or piano and one bodhran
When you don’t know a tune but you know the key and tonal center (modes)
- Drone the root
- Play power chords
When you do know the chords for a tune, a useful technique is to use inversions to add character. For example on something like Cliffs of Moher, you could play the Am chord starting on the 5th fret of the guitar (in standard tuning). But only play the top 4 strings. Same with the G maj chord that follows. Then during the ‘B’ part of the tune play the ‘cowboy’ chords on all 6 strings. This creates a nice dynamic lift on the ‘B’ section.
Basic Traditional Irish Tune Backup
Does the tune section sound Happy/Bright or Sad/Dark?
If Happy/Bright, the tune is probably in Major or Mixolydian mode
Find the underlying drone pedal tone (quietly play the note and listen)
It will almost always be either D, G, or A
If the drone is G
Mode is G Major and the chords to try are G – C – D
If the drone is D or A, listen for the flatted or un-flatted VII note in the tune scale
If drone is D the VII note will be either C or C#
If C#, the mode is D Major and the chords to try are D – G – A
If C, the mode is D Mixolydian and the chords to try are D – C – Am
If drone is A, the VII note will be either G or G#
If G#, the mode is A Major and the chords to try are A – D – E
If G, the mode is A Mixolydian and the chords are A – G – Em
If Sad/Dark the tune section is probably in Dorian mode
Find the underlying drone pedal tone (quietly play the note and listen)
It will almost always be either E or A, and less often B
If the drone is E:
The mode is E Dorian and the chords to try are Em – D – Bm
If the drone is A:
The mode is A Dorian and the chords to try are Am – G – Em
If the drone is B:
The mode is B Dorian and the chords to try are Bm – A – F#m
Basic Progression for Modal Tunes
Major keys G or D:
such as the Merry Blacksmith or Off to California
I Major > IV Major > V Major
Or
I Major > II Minor > IV Major > V Major
Mixolodian: such as Banish Misfortune
I Major > VII > V Major
If Happy/Bright, the tune is probably in Major or Mixolydian mode
Minor keys Am or Em and occasionally Bm:
such as Swallowtail Jig or Cliffs of Moher
Dorian and Aeolian :
I Minor > VII Major > V Major
If Sad/Dark the tune section is probably in Dorian mode
These chord patterns may be used for backing nearly any tune. Please note, in many cases you won’t be using “fully formed” chords in the sense of scale tones 1+3+5, often it will be just 1+5 or 1+1.
DADGAD/Bouzouki Capo
D, Bm: none
Em: 2nd fret
G: 5th fret
A: 7th fret
The source of the above ‘progression for modal tunes’ is from a Michael Eskin handout. If anyone is interested, here is the link to the full document:
Irish Session Backup 11Mar2021 (michaeleskin.com).